On second thought I should have voted that we are ahead in the rebuild. It is amazing that we were able to get all that done in one year. We also did all this and treated the players we traded fairly by sending them all to good teams. That should have shown them that we appreciated what they had done for us. I don't say that was our main intent because we also got what we wanted in the trades. Eaton to the Nationals, Sale to the Red Sox, Quintana to the Cubs, Frazier,Kahnle, and Robertson to the Yanks. Swarzak to the Brewers. Cabrera to K.C., Gonzales to Texas. All those teams had a good chance to be in the playoffs. That may come into play in the future when it comes to signing free agents. I know it's mostly money that motivates players to sign but I don't think this hurt either.

On second thought I should have voted that we are ahead in the rebuild. It is amazing that we were able to get all that done in one year. We also did all this and treated the players we traded fairly by sending them all to good teams. That should have shown them that we appreciated what they had done for us. I don't say that was our main intent because we also got what we wanted in the trades. Eaton to the Nationals, Sale to the Red Sox, Quintana to the Cubs, Frazier,Kahnle, and Robertson to the Yanks. Swarzak to the Brewers. Cabrera to K.C., Gonzales to Texas. All those teams had a good chance to be in the playoffs. That may come into play in the future when it comes to signing free agents. I know it's mostly money that motivates players to sign but I don't think this hurt either.

Established Players traded at the trade deadline will go to playoff contending teams.

I can see Miguel Gonzalez coming back to help buttress the staff. Maybe some FA pen staff too.

As far as the draft goes, pitching and lefty bats w/pop seem to be where the White Sox are looking.

With Engel's struggles maybe they look for veteran CF help.

I think they're set at catcher, I wouldn't waste money there. You need a Plan B, but Smith/Narvaez need to develop.

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“There were a few hard rules, but everybody was unique, and he understood that. George’s great strength was he didn’t overcoach. There’s no place for panic on the mound.” - Jim Palmer on George Bamberger “Arms and the man,” Sports Illustrated, April 19, 2004

I can see Miguel Gonzalez coming back to help buttress the staff. Maybe some FA pen staff too.

As far as the draft goes, pitching and lefty bats w/pop seem to be where the White Sox are looking.

With Engel's struggles maybe they look for veteran CF help.

I think they're set at catcher, I wouldn't waste money there. You need a Plan B, but Smith/Narvaez need to develop.

I think this is as good as it gets for Narvaez and Smith... which is better than I expected. The plan is to wait for Collins and Zavala to develop which they seem to be doing nicely.

With Ryan Cordell and Leury Garcia available I doubt the team signs a veteran CF while they wait for Luis Robert to arrive which, according to Hahn's comments, they expect to be sooner than you would otherwise think for a 20 year old in the DSL.

As for the draft, I really do think it is all about gathering the best possible talent available regardless of position. But the more I think about it the more I expect it might be focused on more pitching. You can never have enough.

I agree completely on Gonzalez. The Sox will need to sign at least one veteran starting pitcher and Miguel would fill the bill nicely. The question in my mind is whether they sign 2 free agent starters or do they hope Fulmer can fill a spot in the rotation.

The bullpen desperately needs help and I think it will be a real telling sign of where Hahn and company think the team is at depending on whether they sign reclamation projects like Swarzak and Kahnle were or if they sign proven veterans to 2-3 year contracts.

I would have expected that it would be one year reclamation's only but if they can get a good guy for 2-3 years at a reasonable price now then maybe they start that phase of the rebuild a year early.

Provided that we don't lose any picks, I think Bryan Shaw should be our top priority this offseason. He does have the stuff to close and it weakens the Indians at the same time. Signing a reliever or two should be important. Greg Holland or Addison Reed could be worth it too. But we need to learn from 2015 and not think we're closer than we actually are and trade guys.

Provided that we don't lose any picks, I think Bryan Shaw should be our top priority this offseason. He does have the stuff to close and it weakens the Indians at the same time. Signing a reliever or two should be important. Greg Holland or Addison Reed could be worth it too. What we need to learn from 2015 is to not think we're closer than we actually are and trade guys.

...wouldn't the Sox be better served if they signed those proposed relievers when the team is closer to actually competing?

...wouldn't the Sox be better served if they signed those proposed relievers when the team is closer to actually competing?

Yes and no. I wouldn't sign a big name closer this year as he could fall off before the team gets good, which is why I feel like a 2 year deal with one of those guys is better, if things go badly, they can always trade him. If they don't want to sign for a short term deal, then forget it. My overall plan would be 2-3 reclamation pitchers and 1 established guy for the pitching staff.

There’s no point in signing a veteran reliever to a multi year contract. They’ll have to sign a few veteran pitchers but only for one year contracts.
Stay on the hunt for more young pitching. Perhaps move some of these excess AAA position players for similarly situated pitchers

I bet the Sox take another flyer on a Rule 5 pickup to stash in the bullpen or make a start or two on doubleheader days that pop up. While the Covey experience was not pleasant, who knows, maybe he returns as a useful piece in a year or two after some minor league instruction time.

I bet the Sox take another flyer on a Rule 5 pickup to stash in the bullpen or make a start or two on doubleheader days that pop up. While the Covey experience was not pleasant, who knows, maybe he returns as a useful piece in a year or two after some minor league instruction time.

Isn't that the thing, though? I thought that until this year he hadn't even pitched above A-Ball. So maybe some more development time is in order for him. We'll just have to see...hopefully away from the MLB club.